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Glass L 

Book 




Reproduced from March 1901 

Land of Sunshine 

The Maeazine of California and the West 

Los Anereles 



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PORTERVILLE. 

BY CHAS. AMADOU MOODY 

'ARVELOUS as are the contributions which California has 
already made to the wealth — and the ag^greg-ate comfort 
and happiness — of the world, they are all but insignificant 
by comparison with those which are yet to come. That this is the 
safest of prophecies 'will appear almost at the outset of any inquiry 
into the subject, and the evidence become more convincing at every 
step. For even in those sections which have been longest settled 
and most fully developed — the two conditions, by the way, are by no 
means invariably coincident — the possibilities which remain com- 
monly far exceed those already utilized. And as for the larger part 




A POKTRKVII,LE BUSINESS STREET. Photo, by Roberts. 

of the State, it is a conservative use of words to saj' that barely 
enough of its resources have been turned to account to faintly shadow 
forth what shall hereafter be. 

To the elect many who know and love California these truths may 
seem so obvious as hardly to be worth recording. The apology for 
here stating' them must be the peculiar force and convincingness of 
the evidence in their favor obtained from a study of the town whose 
name heads this article, and the territory tributary to it. For 
Porterville is one of the older communities of the State, prosperous, 
ambitious and far from unprogressive. The record of her material 
achievements is one of which her citizens are justly proud. Yet the 
number of those citizens might be increased tenfold and the 



4 LAND OF SUNSHINE. 

value of the annual product of the district multiplied by a much 
larger factor, still leaving- abundant room for an even greater 
development. It is the purpose of this article to make clear how 
broad a field for individual effort is here offered, and how ample are 
the returns which may be reasonably expected. 

Porterville is situated on the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Val- 
ley, just where it begins to rise into the foothills of the Sierra Ne- 
vadas. To the north, south and west lies the nearly level floor of the 
great valley ; a few minutes drive to the east takes one among the 
outposts of the snowy range. Right here the Tule river emerges 
from its long but lively course among the mountains to a more de- 
liberate progress through the plain. 

Quite apart from its picturesqueness, this position on the dividing 
line between sections of so widely different character has special ad- 




A HOME AMONG THE ORANGE TREES. 

vantage, not only in the inevitable modification of climatic and at- 
mospheric conditions, but in the increased varietj' of the industries 
which center there. This will be manifest as we proceed. 

Porterville is about 275 miles from San Francisco by rail ; some 
215 miles from Los Angeles. Fresno is 70 miles away to the 
north, while Bakersfield, with her rich tributary oil-fields, lies 55 
miles to the south. A division of the Southern Pacific railroad 
passes through the town, and the service, so far as local requirements 
go, is reasonably satisfactory. None of the through trains between 
San Francisco and Los Angeles run by way of this division at pres- 
ent, but it is hoped that the management will soon see the commercial 
wisdom of making a change in this respect. Certainly there are 
many travelers who would prefer to break the monotony of the long 
ride through the level valley by this nearer approach to the superb 
mountain range. That the impressions of the fertility and varied re- 




PORTERVILLE. 




sources of the foothill 
country which the pas- 
sengers must gain 
would help somewhat 
to its rapid further 
development hardly 
needs an argument. 

The citrus fruit in- 
dustry is the one that 
naturally comes first in 
writing about Porter- 
ville. "Getting a living 
from the products of 
the soil " can hardly 
present itself in more 
attractive form than 
the ownership and cul- 
tivation of an orange 
or lemon orchard. Not 
only is a well kept 
orchard a thing of 
beauty through all the 
changing seasons, and 
a delight to the esthetic 
sense, but the money 
returns in favorable 
localities are larger 
from a given area, and 
(one season with an- 
other) more certain 
than from almost any 
other crop. The nat- 
ural consequence is 
that land known to be 
in eVery way adapted 
for citrus fruit culture 
is worth the very high- 
est price — and is a sat- 
isfactory investment, 
even at figures that 
startle those not ac- 
quainted with the 
facts. 

Now, since by far the 
greater part of the 
orange and lemon crop 
of California is pro- 
duced south of the Te- 
hachapi, it will be a 
surprise to many to 



6 LAND OF SUNSHINE. 

learn that a considerable area of as choice citrus land as any in 
the State is immediately adjacent to Porterville. Indeed, there are 
some points in which this section has a very decided advantage over 
the most famous orange-growing districts of Southern California. 
Time was — and not long since — when such a statement would have 
been met with more or less polite incredulity, and a stock jest con- 
cerning a shipment of oranges from the territory in question was, 
" Where did they buy them?" The point of the joke was obvious 
enough in 1893, when the shipments of citrus fruits from Porterville 
were but seven carloads ; it is effectually dulled this season by the 
shipment of three hundred and fifteen carloads from this point alone. 

The citrus lands of the Porterville district lie for the most part 
either on the gentle slopes leading up to the foothills or in the pro- 
tected valleys opening widely for miles back among the hills. The 
soil is generally of great depth, and of such fertility that even in the 
older orchards the use of fertilizers has been very slight. Nor has 
this been at the expense of the trees, as their strong growth and con- 
tinuously profuse yield fully proves. The Tule river furnishes irri- 
gating water to the land "under the ditch," which includes most of 
the orchards. But "dry years" have been as profitable to Porterville 
as to other communities which were put to the inquiry as to whether 
water could not be obtained from beneath the surface of the ground 
to offset the scarcity on the surface. The result here has been not 
only the development of water to supply every present requirement, 
but the proof that over many square miles an inexhaustible body of 
water will be struck almost anywhere at a depth of from sixty to one 
hundred feet. This not only removes any possible danger of failure of 
the water supply, but widely extends the area adapted to citrus fruits 
and other crops requiring irrigation. 

One of the great advantages enjoyed by Porterville orange-grow- 
ers is the early date at which the fruit matures, enabling the bulk of 
the crop to reach the market long before shipments begin to arrive 
in quantity from elsewhere. This season, for example, the first car- 
load of oranges — sweet, well colored and highly flavored — left Por- 
terville October 30th, while practically the entire crop had been ship- 
ped December 15th. This early maturity is easilj' enough accounted 
for by the higher average summer temperature, the nights in par- 
ticular being warmer than in other orange-growing sections. 

As to the quality of Porterville oranges and lemons, the long ar- 
ray of prizes taken at fairs and exhibitions for many successive 
years and in competition with fruit from every citrus-growing dis- 
trict in the State, form a sufficiently conclusive array of evidence. 

With all these points to encourage the raising of citrus fruits, it 
would be natural to expect that most of the suitable land would be 
already utilized for that purpose, and that what was left would be 
held for at least as high prices as rule elsewhere. The facts are 
quite otherwise. The total area of the citrus orchards in the territory 
strictly tributary to Porterville is not far from 1200 acres — certainly 




— ■. « 



PORTERVILLE. 9 

does not exceed 1400. How many thousands of acres every whit as 
well adapted for the purpose are now turned to vastly less profitable 
uses cannot, of course, be stated precisely, but the fig^ure is certainly 
a large one. 

And these lands can be bought for only a fractional part of the 
price freely paid for similar property elsewhere. As good orange 
land as any in the iState, under the ditch and with full water-right, 
can be had for from $75 to $100 per acre. Land as good in every 
other respect, but "above the ditch" may be had at half these 
prices, even when near-by tests have demonstrated the reasonable 
certainty' of developing plenty of water at small cost. 

As an illustration of the wealth which is created in the process of 
establishing orange groves upon such land there may be named a 




WHEKK WAYFAKKKS FIND WELCOME. 



single five acres of five-year-old orange trees near Porterville, the 
crop from which this season sold on the trees for $1,000. This is, of 
course, an exceptionally favorable result, and is not quoted as a 
specimen of what might usually be expected. The ordinarj' returns, 
however, are quite large enough to make the first cost of the land 
appear insignificant compared with its value when so improved. 

If the acreage of choice citrus lands about Porterville is large, that 
peculiarly adapted to deciduous fruits is larger still, and an even 
greater proportion of it remains undeveloped. On the rich, loamy 
bottom-lands, the peach, apricot, plum, prune, nectarine, pear and 
fig flourish and bear bountifully. The same climatic conditions 



10 LAND OF SUNSHINE. 

which bring- Porterville oranges to marketable condition ahead of 
those from most other sections promote both early maturity and 
choice quality in deciduous fruits. Yet up to this time hardly more 
attention has been paid to this branch of horticulture than enough to 
prove the possibilities. The sufficient character of the proof may 
be indicated by referring- to one orchard of 160 acres, nearly all 
prunes, the crop from which sold in 1899 for more than $15,000. The 
returns from another orchard of the same size, close by, set to 
peaches, apricots, plums and prunes, amounted to about $6,000 for the 
same year. At suitable elevations in the mountain valleys, apples 
find a cong-enial home. 

Altog-ether, it is probable that the area devoted to deciduous fruits 
in the Porterville district will increase many-fold within a few j^ears. 
These have a distinct advantage over citrus fruits for persons of limit- 




ONK OF THE CHURCHES. 

ed capital in the lower price of suitable land, the smaller cost of plant- 
ing- and cultivation, the lessened need of irrigation and the shorter 
time required for bringing them into bearing. 

Viticulture, too, tested as yet only on a small scale, gives promise 
of becoming an important industry. Broad stretches of level coun- 
try offer just the soils which the vine most loves ; the absence of 
chilly nights and the steady heat of the summer sun, almost unbroken 
by clouds or fog, hasten the ripening of the grape even while they 
increase the percentage of sugar in it ; and September —the raisin- 
drying month — is almost absolutely free from dew, to say nothing of 
rain, enabling the curing to be completed in the shortest possible 
time and at the smallest cost. 

So much space has been given to the subject of fruit-raising be- 
cause the opportunities for successful enterprise along that line seem 
broadest and most varied. As has been already intimated, this in- 



PORTERVILLE. 



11 



dustry is here only in its infancy — lusty and thriving to be sure — but, 
as one earnest gentleman puts it, " with most of its future in front 
of it." Two more primitive, but often highly profitable, occupations 
—wheat-farming and stock-raising — have in the past played the 
major parts. And so far are they from being " played out," that 
conditions in them were never more favorable than in this present 
year of grace. Immediately tributary to Porterville are approxi- 
mately 180,000 acres of grain-fields, mainly devoted to wheat. There 
are those who find the dead-level of great wheat fields monotonous, 
but one might travel far and be well repaid by the sight of mile after 
mile set close with the sturdy green blades, framed and spangled with 




AND A SCHOOLHOUSE. 

such torrents of wild flowers as are seen nowhere but in California. 
Nor does it detract from the beaut3' of the scene to know that (present 
favorable conditiotis holding) the wheat crop of the district this year 
will probably sell in the primary market for something like 
13,000,000. 

The country about Porterville has always been particularly favor- 
able for stock-raising— its earliest use. The variety and luxuriant 
growth of wild grasses and grains give early and long-continued 
green pasturage, the grazing season being still further extended by 
the proximity of mountain and plain, with their diftering conditions. 
During the long, dry season the uncut grass cures to a natural hay, 
which gives ample nourishment till the winter rains again cover the 



12 



LAND OF SUNSHINE. 




JUST A BITK OF HAY. 

fields with grass. But even here, the rapidly extending- culture of 
alfalfa promises to greatly extend the business and improve its con- 
dition. For while the average requirement of native pasture land 
for cattle is from ten to fifteen acres to the head, a single acre of 
alfalfa will abundantly feed three or four head during nine months 
of the 3'ear, and a small additional area will furnish hay to carrj- 
them through the remaining three months. 

The same factor, too, has given a fillip to the comparatively neg- 
lected dairying industrj', which now offers excellent opportunities. 
A creamery has lately been built near the town, and is already doing 
a considerable business, with both facilities for and expectations of 
a rapid increase. 

Manufacturing has made but slight progress in Porterville, the 
excellently equipped flouring mill, with a daily capacity of sixty 
barrels, being its most important representative. A smelter is now 
being built at the edge of the town to convert into commercial prod- 
ucts an extensive and valuable deposit of magnesite, long known to 
exist, but only now coming into use. Available water power, crude 
oil for fuel at near-by points, and the electric energy supplied at rea- 
sonable rate by the Mt. Whitney Company, oifer a choice of motive 
power for further development in this direction. 

The mineral resources in the vicinity of Porterville have been 
barely nibbled at. Some attention has been paid to gold mining, 
both placer and quartz, for many years, but not on a considerable 
scale. There are evidences of an important body of copper ore, some 
twenty miles back in the mountains, and it is reported that this will 
soon be thoroughly exploited. The proved oil belt is extending 



14 



LAND OF SUNSHINE. 



steadily nearer to Porterville, and the meaning- of favorable indica- 
tions which may bring- it still closer is about to be carefully tested. 

The rugg-ed and broken mountain country which commences 
almost at the doors of Porterville, and stretches for mile after mile, 
g-rowing-even wilder and more precipitous, right up to the loftiest and 
most imposing- peaks of the Sierra Nevada, have been only slig-htly 
"prospected" in search of minerals. That they will disclose stores of 
such wealth is probable enoug-h. But no discoveries of that nature 
can possibly compare in importance with the value of that mig-hty 
barrier to the dwellers on the plain. It is the storehouse in which the 
snow and rain of winter are conserved for thirsty summer days. 
From its forests of redwood and pine and oak come the cooling-, 
spicy breezes that freshen and vivify the heated air of the valle3^ 

The sportsman can find there deer and bear and other game a- 
plenty ; the streams are well stocked with trout ; while if any better 
places have been discovered in which one who is weary of well-doing 
may just " loaf and invite his soul," the fact is not of record in the 
office of any county clerk. There are medicinal springs whose vir- 
tues rival those of many a far-famed resort ; there are hot springs, 
at whose touch rheumatism and kindred ailments hasten away ; and 
innumerable cold spring-s with no virtue at all except the incom- 
parable one of supplying bountifully just clear, pure water. There 
are great groves of the Giant Sequoia, and forests of the stately 
sugar pine, and sheltered grassy slopes where alpine flowers run 
riot. • 




AMONO THE FOREST GIANTS. 



16 



LAND OF SUNSHINE. 



But there is no need of catalog'uing- the myriad fascinations of the 
mountains. The point to be made here is that one day's easy ride 
from the fertile lands, described in these lines, brings one into the 
heart of them. If summer heat is found uncomfortable, therefore — 
dangerous or unbearable it never is — the way of escape is an easy 
one. 

The purpose of this article has been to indicate, as accurately as 
may be and erring, if at all, on the side of conservatism, the present 
resources and probable line of development of the Porterville dis- 
trict. No doubt can remain in the mind of anyone who will take the 
pains to investigate the facts that it is one of the most promising 
sections even of regal California. 

The town of Porterville itself does not differ greatly from other 
well ordered and progressive communities of its size. One need not 
insist upon its churches, its schools, its fraternal organizations, its 





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"its prosperous bank." 



volunteer fire department, its comfortable hotel, its prosperous bank, 
its charming homes, or its well stocked business houses. These are 
there, of course. Nor need one dwell longer upon the endless charms 
and healthfulness of California's climate than to say that Porterville 
has its fair share. 

The point which it is desired to press home is that there is need of 
and oportunity for both men and capital — the quality of the men 
being of more importance than the quantity of the capital — to co- 
operate in developing the resources, and in doing so to win prosperity, 
while all the time surrounded by delightful conditions of living. If 
any reader wishes more detailed information, it can be obtained by 
addressing the Secretary of the Board of Trade, Porterville, Tulare 
county, California. 



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